Rise of E-Commerce Comes at Expense of Brick and Mortar [Infographic]

Our world—and our shopping experiences—are going digital. While brick and mortar storefronts have traditionally been the staple of retail sales, online shopping is very rapidly gaining in popularity. The rise of e-commerce comes at the expense of brick and mortar stores. This year already, Loehmann’s, J.C. Penney, Blockbuster Video, Macy’s, Target, Sears, Best Buy and RadioShack are all either going out of business or severally cutting number of chains and/or employees.

Surveys reveal that 40 percent of people currently shop online at least once a month. Consumer electronics, books and clothing are popular online purchase items. It’s projected that by 2017, 60 percent of all U.S. retail sales will involve the Internet in some capacity (direct sale or research), and 10.3 percent of total U.S. retail sales will be online purchases.

While you may be able to better evaluate a product’s quality in-store, online reviews speak to quality from experience, and 88 percent of consumers are influenced by online reviews. Also, consumers are often frustrated by difficulties of locating a specific product in-store. The top deal closers for online retailers to focus on include free delivery, lower prices, free returns and a better virtual view of products.

So, when was the last time you made an online purchase? What was it? Please share in the comments, and be sure to take a look at the infographic below to learn more!

Brian Wallace is the Founder and President of NowSourcing, an industry leading infographic design agency , based in Louisville, KY and Cincinnati, OH which works with companies that range from startups to Fortune 500s. Brian also runs #LinkedInLocal events nationwide, hosts the Next Action Podcast, and has been named a Google Small Business Advisor for 2016-2018. Follow Brian Wallace on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.